The dragon defender is the strongest defender in the game. It is used for its attack bonus and is held in the off-hand slot in place of a shield. It requires 60 Defence as well as a combined Attack and Strength of 130 or 99 Strength to wield. It is exclusively obtained as a rare drop in the basement of the Warriors' Guild from the cyclopes that reside there. The basement of the Warriors' Guild is outside west of the building.

Its defence bonuses are comparable to those of the adamant sq shield, with slight differences. It has the best off-hand strength bonus apart from the dragonfire shield, which gives a +7 strength bonus. This -1 strength bonus difference is off-set by its unrivalled melee attack bonuses, the highest that can be found in the off-hand slot.

If the player dies below level 20 Wilderness, it will remain in the player's inventory. However, the item will be unusable and must be repaired with 40,000 coins by using the item on Perdu.